


Secrets Exposed

by Kyarorain



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-13
Updated: 2010-12-13
Packaged: 2017-10-15 11:17:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/160280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyarorain/pseuds/Kyarorain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ash receives a mysterious phone call one morning and learns that one of his friends is in danger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Secrets Exposed

There's going to be a lot of angst for Ash in this fanfic. Yummy. Mentions of Eldershipping are present.

Game Freak and Nintendo own Pokémon

"Ash, are you awake?" Delia opened the door to her son's bedroom, peering in and seeing that he was still fast asleep in bed. She smiled in bemusement and walked over to the bed, gently shaking him. Ash jolted awake, his eyes flying open.

"Huh? Mom? What is it?" Ash mumbled thickly, looking at her in confusion

"There's someone on the phone for you," Delia responded. "You really ought to be getting out of bed now, anyway, it's almost ten in the morning."

Ash grumpily rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up, looking a little put out. "Couldn't you just have told them to call back later? Who is calling anyway?"

"Why, so you can sleep in longer? I don't know who it is, they didn't say. Still, don't keep them waiting." Delia smiled cheerily and walked out of the room.

Ash exhaled heavily, looking at Pikachu, who was now awake and watching him curiously. "Well, guess I should do what Mom says then. I wonder who could be calling me at this time?" He hastily got out of bed, pausing to let Pikachu jump onto his shoulder, and hurried downstairs to the phone.

The video screen was blank, which struck him as rather odd. It could be that the caller's video wasn't working or their phone didn't have a video. Part of him wondered if maybe the video had been disabled for a reason, to keep their identity a secret, but why would they do that? "Hello?" Ash spoke. "It's Ash here. Who is this?"

"Hello, Ash," said a breathy, male voice. "How good of you to finally answer my call."

The voice was not one that Ash recognised and a trickle of discomfort crept up his spine. It was odd enough the video was off, even odder that a stranger would be calling him in his own home.

"Who is this?" Ash repeated a little more firmly.

"Heh. You don't beat around the bush much, do you?" The voice sounded faintly amused. "I don't see any need to tell you my name as a matter of fact. Maybe it would be better if we just got to the point of this call."

"You are calling me in my own home and you're not even going to tell me who you are?" Ash was seriously getting annoyed at this point. Some creep had called him out of bed and he was not in the mood for messing around at this time of the morning. "You know what, I'm just going to hang up on you right now." He was reaching for the disconnect button already.

"Hold on," the voice sounded urgent now. "Don't hang up on me just yet. There's somebody here who you might like to listen to and I guarantee you know who they are." There was a faint ripping sound in the background and then Ash could hear somebody breathing heavily into the phone.

"Ash? Listen, this guy is dangerous... he's-" The voice was broken off suddenly and a muffled noise followed.

A chill ran through Ash's body and he gasped faintly. He did know who it was. "Gary?" he whispered, his eyes widening. "What have you done to Gary?"

"Don't worry." The strange man was back now. "I haven't done anything to him and I won't be provided you follow my orders. If you want him safe and alive, then you had better do what I say."

Ash clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging through his gloves into his palms. "You... how could you?" he whispered angrily. "Why Gary? What did you have to kidnap him for? You had better not do anything to him or I swear I will-"

"I already said I wasn't going to do anything to him. Sheesh, kid, don't you ever listen?" the man asked grumpily. "Like I said, you must do what I say or there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

Ash was feeling slightly dizzy at this point and a little sick. How could something like this be happening? He hoped the guy was telling the truth and he really hadn't done anything too bad to Gary. Gary didn't deserve it. "Yes, I understand," he said thickly.

"There's this abandoned house close to Viridian City, on a little road leading to the east. The sign says Mossfield House. Nobody ever goes into that place... well, except for me and my hostage." The man paused. "You are to go there, and you must not call the police or tell a soul what is going on. If you do, I will kill Gary on the spot. Don't even try to be heroic. You would just be putting his life in danger and I imagine you wouldn't want to do that."

The back of Ash's eyes stung with tears. Who was this nasty creep and why was he doing this? This was awful. "So you just want me to turn up? That's all? I don't need to bring anything?"

"Just yourself. Don't take too long," said the man. "If you're not here in two days, then it's bye-bye Gary. The only thing you'll find is his corpse."

Ash flinched at the word, a shiver crawling over his skin. He wanted to yell into the phone, to call the stranger on the other line all kinds of foul names, but his mother would hear him and he didn't want to alert her to Gary's kidnapping. The man surely wouldn't like that. He heard a dull click as the line went dead and his knees became weak. Ash clutched onto the table, steadying himself. "Oh my god," he whispered to himself. "Oh god..." He stumbled over to a chair and sank into it, holding his head and shaking like a leaf.

Pikachu jumped up and crawled into Ash's lap, nuzzling him comfortingly. "Pikapi?"

Ash rubbed Pikachu's head and held him close. He thought of Gary, being held against his will by some crazed kidnapper. When Gary spoke on the phone he had sounded so scared. Ash had never heard him sound like that before. He had said the guy was dangerous and Ash certainly didn't doubt that. Did the kidnapper plan to do something terrible like hurt him or worse? He obviously wanted Ash, and Gary was probably just a way to get Ash there, but why Gary? Would he have kidnapped another one of Ash's friends instead if he had the opportunity or was there a reason he picked Gary? Maybe the man really wanted to have both of them there. He just didn't know.

"Ash!" Delia called out some time later. "Breakfast is ready!"

Ash walked into the kitchen and looked at the food that had been placed on the table. His stomach did a flop at the sight. He wasn't sure how he could possibly eat anything right now but he was just going to have to try. He couldn't possibly risk tipping his mother off to the fact that something was horribly wrong. Ash sat in the chair and started to eat. The food was tasteless and dry in his mouth and he had to force it down his throat. All he could think about was Gary, alone and scared at the mercy of a crazy kidnapper.

"Ash, are you okay?" Delia noticed how slowly he was eating. He also seemed to be depressed about something but she couldn't imagine what. "You're barely touching your food."

"Um, I guess I just don't have much appetite this morning," Ash responded weakly. It was a bad excuse and he was sure she could see right through it but what else could he say?

"It's not like you to not have much appetite," Delia commented. "So who was it on the phone this morning?"

"Oh, er... just... a friend," Ash said finally.

"A friend?" Delia regarded him quizzically. "You're not going to tell me who this friend is?"

"Sorry, Mom, but I can't really say anything about it right now." Ash stared at his plate, praying that she would close the subject and talk about something else instead. He absolutely couldn't let it slip to her that Gary had been kidnapped by some psycho.

"Is everything really okay?" Now Delia looked worried. It was clear that there was something wrong and Ash was clamming up about it. Maybe it hadn't been a friendly phone call. What was he hiding from her and why?

"It's fine, really." Ash pushed back his chair and stood up. "I really can't eat anymore." He hurried out of the kitchen and raced upstairs to his room, where he started frantically packing his backpack. She would find it strange he was leaving so quickly, especially after the odd phone call, and he really couldn't think of a good excuse for going. He could only hope she wasn't going to stop him from leaving.

Delia was waiting in the living room as Ash came down the stairs. She immediately noticed the backpack. "Going somewhere?" Now she was growing really worried. Ash leaving like this was obviously connected to that call he had suddenly received. "It's got something to do with that phone call, right?"

There was no use in lying to her. Ash swallowed and nodded. "Yeah... I can't say anything about it, Mom, I really can't. I've just got to do this. I need to go to Viridian City."

"Ash... you're not putting yourself in danger, are you?" Delia frowned.

He certainly hoped not. Gary was the one in danger right now, but if Ash went over there, then he probably would be putting himself in danger as well. The guy could very easily be plotting to kidnap him as well but Ash simply could not just abandon Gary to die at the hands of that maniac. "Don't worry, Pikachu's with me and I've got my other Pokémon as well. I'll be fine. Nobody's going to do anything to me."

"So you really are going and putting yourself in a dangerous situation, aren't you?" Delia spread her hands helplessly. "You honestly expect me to let you just walk out of that door now?"

"If I don't, someone will die." Ash's voice was choked up with tears now. He was growing afraid that he'd already said too much at this point. He needed to get out of here before he let anything else slip. "It will be okay, Mom. Really." He hurried out the front door and shut it before she could say anything further. Delia stared at the closed door with a despairing expression.

x-o-x-o-x

It took Ash the rest of the day and the following night to reach Viridian City. He spent the night camping outside the outskirts of the city, though he could barely sleep for worrying about Gary. When it was morning, Ash headed to the road leading to his destination and soon found an old sign. The faded words read "Mossfield House". His gaze fell upon an overgrown path winding up a steep hill, dotted with trees and covered with tangled plantation. Clearly, nobody had been here in a long time. He drew in a deep breath and slowly released it, making his way up the steep path. It took a fair effort to climb and he could understand now why the house was abandoned. Who would want to climb a road like this every day? Soon, he reached the top of the hill and leaned over to rest on his knees, gasping for breath.

"That was quite a climb," Ash murmured to Pikachu, who sat upon his shoulder and thus had been saved the effort of traversing up the hill. He looked straight ahead and caught sight of the house in the distance. The old brick walls were covered in creeping ivy and the windows had been boarded up. It was a desolate building that had seen years of neglect. Ash warily walked up to the door. He didn't know what to expect. Would the kidnapper come out of the door if he knocked and what would his next step be? It really felt like he was walking into a trap but what choice was there? If he wanted to save Gary, he had to do this. "Okay, Pikachu, be ready for anything. We don't know what's going to happen after all."

"Pika." Pikachu nodded, looking fierce.

Ash raised a shaky hand and rapped sharply upon the door then waited. A few minutes went by and there was only silence. "Hmm, maybe he wants us to just come in. I guess he would be a bit wary of answering the door." Ash gripped the brass knob and turned. The door easily yielded open, revealing the dusty hallway beyond. He could just see, despite the gloom, that it was completely bare without any carpeting or furniture. He cautiously walked through the hall, looking through the first two doors he came across. Both of them led to empty rooms. Ash made his way into the foyer and looked around. Three doors led off to separate areas and the wide, sweeping stairway led upstairs. A dusty chandelier hung from the ceiling above him. This must have been a nice house when it was actually being used and it was surprising anyone could let a place like this fall into complete disrepair.

Pikachu suddenly squeaked in surprise, toppling off Ash's shoulder. Ash hurriedly caught him before he could hit the floor. "Pikachu, what's wrong?" It was dark and he could hardly see anything but he thought he could make out something sticking out from Pikachu's body. Then there was a sharp sting in the back of his neck. Ash held Pikachu with one arm, grasping at the place he had been stung and a woozy feeling took hold of him. The young trainer fell to his knees, realising in horror what had just happened. Heavy footsteps approached him from behind and he struggled to fight the drug and stay awake. His body was growing so weak and his eyelids didn't want to stay up any longer.

"Welcome, Ash," said the voice from the phone. "How nice of you to accept my invitation."

Ash's eyes slid shut and he slumped sideways onto the floor, drifting into a deep sleep.


	2. Secrets Exposed

  


**Secrets Exposed**

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Ash groggily awoke to find himself in a dim room, lit only by a flickering candle. He slowly looked around the room, seeing Pikachu snoozing within the bars of a steel cage. As he turned his head, he caught sight of Gary leaning against the wall and let out a muffled cry through the duct tape over his mouth. His hands and feet had been tied together with thick rope. Ash felt annoyed at himself for getting caught so easily. He hadn't expected the kidnapper to come up from behind with a surprise attack like that. Now he was in exactly the same situation as Gary. This really wasn't what he had wanted. Ash had been hoping that he might have been able to confront the kidnapper and overpower him then rescue his friend. So much for that.

The door opened and the kidnapper stepped into the room, his gaze meeting with Ash's. "Ah, so you are awake. Great. Now we can have a nice, friendly chat." He chuckled softly and shut the door behind him, sitting down cross-legged on the floor. "I don't suppose you know who I am, Ash?"

Ash looked at him through narrow eyes. The man had dark, unkempt hair and dark eyes, with a chiseled face and stubble on his chin. At first sight, he didn't recognise him, but as he looked at him for a bit longer, he started to think that there was something slightly familiar about him though he didn't know where he might know the face from.

"Hmph, you really don't, do you?" The man sounded disgusted and he shook his head. "Well, I suppose it's my fault really, but you would think she would have at least saved a picture or two. Guess she forgot all about me, didn't she? You don't even have a clue who I am."

Ash frowned in confusion, bewildered by his words. He didn't know who the "she" the man was talking about was or why he might even have seen any pictures she had in the first place.

The kidnapper saw his confusion and sighed in frustration. "I'm talking about your mother."

His mother? Ash was just becoming more and more confused now. Did his mother know this man at some point? That might explain how the man knew who he was, but why was he contacting him? As far as Ash knew, he had never actually met this man.

The man groaned aloud and buried his face in his hands. "You still don't get it, do you?" He looked up to see Ash shake his head. "Goodness, you really are a dense kid. I used to be married to your mother. Please tell me you get it already."

Ash stared at him for a long while. The only man his mother had ever married as far as he knew was his own father, at the young age of eighteen. Then it hit him and his eyes grew wide. Shock made his insides grow cold. It couldn't be, but it had to be. His own father was sitting before him.

"You get it now, don't you?" His father stood up and walked over, peeling the duct tape from Ash's mouth. "Any words for your long lost father?"

Ash just stared up at him, his mouth closing and opening rapidly. What could he even say to the man who had abandoned him and his mother when he was only a baby? He had never imagined he could actually meet his father like this. Why would his father want to kidnap Gary? Hadn't he kidnapped him as well? What kind of man would kidnap their own son? "You're lying," he whispered. "You can't be my father. My father wouldn't do this." But hadn't he kind of recognised him? He had seen his face somewhere before and knew for a fact he had seen pictures of his father when he was younger. His mother didn't have them on display but they existed in a box she kept at the bottom of her closet.

"You say that but I know you believe me. I can see it in your eyes."

Ash lowered his head, feeling a lump form in his throat. It was hard to believe but he couldn't deny the truth. What reason could a man have to lie about being his father? This was indeed his father, Jack Ketchum, standing before him. "Why?" he whispered in a shaky voice. "I don't understand... why would you kidnap us?"

"Of course you wouldn't understand. You don't know what your mother's been getting up to, do you?" Jack sneered. "Carrying on with that man in secret, behind everyone's backs... they probably think nobody knows. But I do."

"What are you talking about?" Ash looked at him incredulously. "My mom isn't seeing anybody."

Jack let out a short, bitter laugh. "Of course she wouldn't tell you. She wouldn't tell anyone because she knows how scandalous it is. Carrying on with an older man like that, even when she's married... that bitch has got some nerve."

"Hey, don't talk about my mom like that!" Ash shouted angrily.

Jack's response was to drive a boot sharply into Ash's gut. Ash doubled up, gasping and wheezing frantically as he struggled to recover his breath. Tears pooled up in his brown eyes. "Don't you know that it's rude to talk back to your parents, boy?"

Ash screwed his eyes shut, concentrating on breathing. He could hardly even speak for the pain he was in right now.

"Gary must be getting bored over here." Jack walked over to where Gary sat. The auburn haired boy was watching him with a baleful gaze. "Maybe you can have a little chat with Ash, if you like." He tore the duct tape off and stepped back.

Gary spent a few seconds swallowing as his mouth was so dry before he spoke. "You crazy bastard... what do you hope to gain by kidnapping us anyway?"

"I'll get to that later." Jack sat down on the floor, smiling. He glanced at Ash. "Now that I've got both of you here and at my mercy, my plan is going quite well."

Gary hung his head. "You shouldn't have come, Ash. Didn't you realise it was a trap?"

Ash blinked back tears, looking at Gary sadly. "I couldn't just forget about you. He was going to kill you if I didn't come. I hoped that things might have gone differently. If I had been more careful, maybe I could have saved you."

"I figured you would try to be a hero. Luckily for me, I am not an idiot." Jack smiled nastily. "I suppose you would like to know exactly what is going on. Haven't you ever noticed your mother and," he glanced at Gary, "your grandfather doing strange things? Like spending way too much time together for one thing?"

Ash and Gary stared at him incredulously.

"You're saying my mom is dating Professor Oak? That's crazy!" Ash exclaimed. "You're nuts."

"Yeah, there's no way they would be together." Gary frowned. "How could you come up with such a ridiculous idea like that?"

Jack folded his arms across his chest and exhaled heavily. "You are such naive children. I've seen them together and I know for a fact what they are getting up to. I did come back to Pallet Town once after I left."

"Huh?" Ash had heard nothing about this. As far as he knew, his father had left him and his mother shortly after his birth and never come back to Pallet Town after that. Wouldn't his mother have mentioned it if he did?

"I was wondering what your mother had been up to and I was in the area so I thought I might visit. She wasn't at home but someone had seen her going to the laboratory." Jack paused, his eyes narrowing. "I went over there to see her. You and him were playing around in the reserve. I think you were five years old at the time. There was an assistant watching you both. I had to look for her... and then I saw the two of them. They didn't know I was there of course. You know what they are doing? They were kissing." He gritted his teeth. "I suppose it's no wonder she would cheat on me after I left the home like that, but to do it with an older man, especially when she used to be his student? It's just not right."

Ash and Gary just stared at him, both of them rendered utterly speechless. Of course they could never have guessed that their mother and grandfather had been carrying on behind their backs and it seemed unbelievable, but it was evident Jack was telling the truth. He had no reason to lie.

"I left without a word. She never knew I had been there." Jack exhaled. "It's been on my mind ever since. I wonder if she was carrying on with him behind my back the whole time? Maybe even before we were married."

"No way! Mom wouldn't do that!" Ash exclaimed.

"A minute ago, you didn't believe she would be dating the professor," Jack said sourly.

Ash closed his mouth, pressing his lips thinly together. He still didn't think his mother would do something like that.

"I even wondered for a while if you really were my son at all but I can see that you are. Still, I can't forgive him or her for this." Jack clenched a fist. "I've decided I'm going to get my revenge."

"What are you planning?" Gary whispered. His face was eerily pale.

"When they find out I've got the two of you hostage here, no doubt they will come," Jack said, his eyes gleaming. "Then I will make them suffer. I wonder... what could be more painful than watching your own flesh and blood die before your eyes?"

Ash and Gary stared at each other, their eyes widening in horror.

"You... you'll kill us?" Ash stuttered out. "But... I'm your son!"

"I didn't even ask for a child in the first place and I never wanted one. Your mother getting pregnant was just an accident." Jack scowled. "Soon as you were born, I got out of there. Didn't want an extra mouth to feed. If you think I even care about you at all, you're wrong."

Ash recoiled as if he had been slapped in the face, feeling stung by the harsh words. His eyes teared up again and he hunched up in a ball, letting out a loud sniff.

"You asshole." Gary threw a nasty look at their kidnapper. How could he say that to his own child?

"What can I say, I'm an honest guy. Now that we all know what's going on here, I'd say it's time to make a couple of phone calls." Jack reached into the inside of his coat and pulled out a cellphone. He walked over and sat next to Ash. "I think we'll call your mother first." Ash raised his head, revealing his red face streaked with tears.

Jack pressed the buttons on the cell and listened to the phone ring on the other side. A few seconds later, it was picked up. "Hello, Delia. Don't you remember my voice? It's been a long time so I'll forgive you. It's me. Jack. Yes, the father of your child. Speaking of whom, he's right here. Want to speak to him?" He held the phone to Ash's ear.

"Mom?" Ash's voice was choked up.

"Ash, honey, are you alright?" Delia asked in concern. "You don't sound so good. How did you end up meeting your father?"

"He kidnapped me," Ash whimpered. "Gary too."

"What? I don't believe it..."

Jack pulled the phone away and held it to his own ear. "Me again." He paused and Ash could faintly hear some angry exclamations over the phone. "That's right, I kidnapped them both. I expect you'll go running into your beloved Samuel's arms after this call, so I'll be telling him the details of what to do. Just thought I'd say a quick hello." He hastily hung up.

Ash tore his gaze away and looked toward the cage where Pikachu was, clinging on the bars and watching him with a worried expression. What was going to happen to Pikachu if they didn't get out of this? Would Jack dispose of him as well?

Jack stood up and walked over to Gary, punching in another number. "Now I'm calling your dear old grandfather." He listened to the ringing of the phone until it was picked up. "Yes, I'm calling for Professor Oak. No, I'm not going to tell you who I am. Get him on the line right now." A short while later, he spoke again. "Hello, Samuel. Wondering what your grandson is up to right now? He's right here." He lowered the phone to Gary's ear. "Why don't you say something, Gary?"

"Grandfather... please don't come," Gary spoke in a quivering voice. "He's dangerous."

Jack put the phone to his own ear again. "Ash is here too, as a matter of fact. My son has really grown since I last saw him." He paused, listening to the professor's reaction. "Yes, it's Jack Ketchum here. Listen... I'll kill them both if you and Delia don't come as soon as you can. There's this place named Mossfield House, to the east of Viridian City. Don't even think about calling the police. What, you don't believe I'm capable of killing my own son? You don't know me at all." Jack walked over to Ash and gripped his jaw, squeezing hard and causing him to cry out in pain. "Hear that? That was Ash screaming. I am very serious about this, so you had better come as soon as you can, both of you. I'll be waiting." He hung up the phone with a chilling smile.

Ash shivered as he looked up at the man who was his father. He never could have imagined his own father to be such an evil man and wished he'd never had to find out this fact. He'd often wondered what kind of a person his father was. Never had he imagined him to be like this.

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of duct tape. "I don't think anyone could hear you if you cried for help, but it's always good to be on the safe side." He pulled off a piece of the tape and pressed it over Ash's mouth, then did the same to Gary. "You two just sit tight and wait until they get here and then we're going to have a lovely show." He grinned, displaying rows of teeth. "I'm going out for a bit but I'll be back shortly." He walked out of the door and closed it.

Ash listened intently, hearing another door close in the distance. He started shuffling awkwardly across the room on his bottom. Gary watched on in consternation, wondering what Ash had on his mind. Ash was moving toward Pikachu's cage. Jack had made a mistake and Ash was going to use it to his advantage.  
Secrets Exposed

As Ash reached the cage, Pikachu watched him with a puzzled expression, wondering what his trainer had in mind. Ash twisted around and put his hands against the cage, hoping Pikachu would understand what to do. Pikachu caught sight of the rope tied tightly around Ash's wrists and understood. He could just fit his muzzle through the bars and clamped his teeth on the rope. Ash pulled his wrists apart, making the rope taut, and Pikachu started to chew furiously. Ash closed his eyes and listened to the sound of his steady breathing. He was feeling incredibly nervous. What if Pikachu wasn't fast enough and Jack came back in time to catch him? He silently prayed for Pikachu to hurry.

The rope was thick and tough and biting through it hurt Pikachu's teeth but he continued to do so anyway. He needed to save him. The minutes passed by agonisingly slow as Pikachu worked on the rope and soon the last few strands came apart and the rope fell free. Ash sighed in relief and rubbed his numb wrists. He ripped the duct tape off and turned around, opening the cage door. "You did a good job, Pikachu."

"Pika!" Pikachu smiled.

Ash untied the rope from his legs and hurried over to free Gary. "Are you okay?"

"You are crazy, Ash, you know that?" Gary stood up, wincing. His legs were rather sore and cramped from sitting down for so long.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Ash smiled sheepishly. "We'd better hurry and get out of here before he comes back."

Their backpacks were sitting in the corner of the room and they picked them before leaving. Ash checked his and was relieved to see his Poké Balls were there. They hurried out of the house and started down the path.

  



	3. Chapter 3

**Secrets Exposed**

"Hold on," Gary said suddenly, coming to a stop as the two of them reached the slope leading down, gazing at the road below with a troubled expression. "Maybe we shouldn't go down that way after all. He might have gone that way and that's where he's going to come back."

Ash jammed his hands in his pockets, frowning. "So what do you suggest we do then?" He turned his head, looking toward a row of trees in the distance behind the house. "I suppose we could hide out in the woods for a bit but we can't hide forever and Mom and Professor Oak are going to turn up soon. What if he kidnaps them?"

Gary anxiously chewed on his bottom lip. "I wonder if we could take him on instead. Though he's pretty dangerous. What if he has a weapon on him? Like... a gun." He shivered at the thought.

"Hmm, maybe we could hide in the woods for a bit and give him the slip, then get to the road and head to Viridian City," Ash suggested. "Hopefully we will meet Mom and Professor Oak on the way. If we can at least get into the city and notify the police, we'll be safe."

"We really don't have much time to think about our options." Gary's eyes had turned wide and his gaze was still fixed fast on the road. Ash turned and quietly gasped. Jack was coming along the road. The two boys turned and ran, not stopping until they were within the trees and they stopped for breath.

"That was close," Gary murmured. "Had we been just a few minutes later, he would have caught us." He was silent for a moment. "He's really scary."

"Yeah... even I'm a bit afraid," Ash admitted. "I still can't get my head around the fact my own father would..." He broke off, swallowing heavily. "How could someone kill their own child?"

"It's despicable," Gary said sourly. "And what he said to you... he's a monster."

They heard an angry bellow in the distance and froze at the sound of Jack's shout. Their blood ran cold in their bodies.

"We'd better find a good place to hide." Ash took off, running deeper into the woods, with Gary following along. His pulse was roaring in his ears. Adrenalin spurred him on to go as fast as he could. His breath came out in ragged gasps.

There was a loud cry from up above. Ash and Gary briefly looked up to see a Fearow flying above the tree tops. The trees were far apart enough that they could easily be seen from above.

"It's just a Fearow." Ash had been startled by the cry however. Knowing that a madman was chasing after them understandably had him on edge.

Gary frowned as the Fearow circled around a few more times then began flying back toward the house. "Ash... supposing he has a Fearow?"

Ash looked horrified. Of course, he had used flying Pokémon to search from the sky plenty of times. His father could very well have had the same idea. "Damn!" Ash turned and started running again. Gary ran after him. They would just have to find a really good hiding place.

"Where are you?" Jack's voice came through the trees, filled with anger. "I'll kill you! Both of you! You're dead!"

Ash and Gary continued running through the trees, desperately trying to put as much distance between themselves and their pursuer as possible. His shouts were growing louder and they knew he was catching up. Ash and Gary burst into a clearing and raced across it to the cover of trees on the other side.

A shot rang out and Gary screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. Ash stopped and turned, gasping as he saw the blood pouring out from a hole in Gary's leg.

"Ash, run!" Gary urged. "Just go on without me." He screwed up his face, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"No, I'm not running," Ash said fiercely, clenching his fists. This wasn't good. Gary needed medical attention before he ended up bleeding to death.

Jack emerged from the trees, holding a pistol in one hand. "You little bastard," he growled, raising his gun and pointing it toward Ash. "I should have been more careful. Well, I'll just have to show them your dead bodies instead." His finger rested on the trigger and his smile widened.

"Pika!" Pikachu wasn't about to let his trainer get hurt that easily and leaped off Ash's shoulder, plowing into Jack and knocking him off balance. The gun fired but fortunately the bullet passed harmlessly on, hitting a tree.

"You damn rat!" Jack dropped the gun then grabbed a Poké Ball off his waist and threw it. "Golem, go!"

Pikachu backed away as the large boulder Pokémon appeared, sparks flying from his cheeks. Ash clenched his teeth in frustration. A ground type like Golem would easily resist Pikachu's electric attacks. He didn't have time however to call out an attack before Jack ordered his Golem to do something completely unexpected.

"Now use Self Destruct!"

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in horror as the Golem glowed white and then released a massive blast of energy that engulfed Pikachu. He hadn't even had time to get out of the way as he was caught off guard. When the resulting smoke from the explosion cleared, both Pokémon were lying unconscious.

"Now I'll deal with you." Jack charged at Ash, clenching a fist. Ash tried to step out of the way but wasn't quick enough and the fist glanced off his jaw, causing pain to shoot through his face. Jack then seized the front of his shirt and slammed his fist into Ash's face, hearing the sound of splintering bone.

Agony exploded through Ash's face and he released a piercing howl of pain. Warm blood began to gush from his nose and run down his face in two scarlet rivers. Tears pooled up in his eyes as his nose throbbed fiercely.

Jack stared at his face for a few seconds, quietly amused by the sight, then he flung Ash to the ground. Before Ash had time to recover, he stamped down hard on Ash's ribs, making the young boy cry out in pain. "I ought to just have kicked your mother in the stomach when she was pregnant. You really are a worthless little shit." He raised his foot and placed it squarely on Ash's neck. He then began to press down, crushing Ash's throat.

Ash let out a choked whimper as his breath was cut off. The boot pressed down into his windpipe even harder and an array of coloured dots exploded in his line of sight. He tried to kick at Jack, but it didn't work, and made a futile effort to pull his leg off. His vision blurred and his lungs burned with an intense pain. His body was becoming weaker. His struggles slowed. Jack smiled coldly as he gazed down at his son's reddening face, showing no remorse over the act of crushing the life from him.

A shot rang out and Jack froze for a couple seconds, staring straight ahead with a stunned look on his face before toppling sideways and crashing to the ground. Ash sat up and retched noisily, cradling his bruised throat and gasping in precious lungfuls of air. He looked at Jack, seeing a red circle of blood stain his shirt around his stomach. The man was clutching the wound, blood seeping through his fingers. His face was contorted in pain.

Ash turned his head to see Gary weakly clutching onto the gun and understood what had happened. He got up and raced over to his friend. "Gary, are you okay?"

"You'd better go and get help," Gary whispered. "I can't move like this."

Ash looked at the wound, which was still pumping blood. He would have to try and stop it somehow. He dropped his backpack and opened it, rummaging through it and finding a spare shirt which he took out and started wrapping tightly around Gary's leg. "Just hold on. I'll get help."

"Your face is such a mess, Ash." Gary frowned.

Ash wiped at his face, clearing away the blood. His nose was still bleeding a fair bit and hurt a lot. "Well, it's still better than being shot. Just stay there and don't even move. I'll be back as soon as I can." He picked up Pikachu, who was still unconscious, and raced back through the trees toward the house, praying desperately that Gary would be able to hold on for long enough.

Soon, he emerged from the woods and returned to the road, racing toward Viridian City. On the way there, he saw a car approaching and realised that it was Professor Oak's. Ash's spirits lifted considerably upon seeing Professor Oak and his mom in the front of the car. The car slowed down to a stop and Ash hurried up to it.

"Oh my god! Ash, your face!" Delia put a hand over her mouth, horrified at the sight of the blood running down from Ash's nose. "What's happened?"

"Did you escape?" Professor Oak asked.

"I don't have time to chat," Ash said urgently. "Gary... he's been shot in the leg. He's up there in the woods. He really needs help."

"He's been what?" Professor Oak turned pale. "Alright, hop in the car. We'll drive up there and go and get him. But what happened to Jack?"

Ash clambered into the car. "He's dead. Gary shot him to save me. He was trying to kill me."

"I can't believe this is the man I married." Delia bit her lower lip. She'd never thought he would be capable of trying to kill their child and it was a massive shock to find out what kind of person he really was.

"Pikapi..." Pikachu weakly mumbled, eyes cracking open.

"Hey, Pikachu." Ash looked down at him. "It's going to be okay. We'll get you to a Pokémon Center soon."

The car revved up and sped away down the road, taking another path that led up to the house. It stopped just outside the woods and the three of them hurried through the trees, Ash leading as they raced to the spot where Gary would be. They reached the clearing and saw Gary lying on the ground, as well as Jack's body lying a few feet away. Delia stared at the body for a few seconds, paling at the sight of the man she'd once loved. Now all she felt was hatred toward him for what he had done.

"Gary!" Ash knelt next to him. "Gary, are you awake?"

Gary creaked his eyes open, weakly looking up. "Ash?" He saw Professor Oak and Delia standing behind Ash. "Grandfather..."

"We're going to take you to the hospital now. Just hold on," Ash said.

Professor Oak lifted Gary up in his arms and they went back through the woods to the car. Gary was placed in the back and Ash sat with Gary's head on his lap.

"You're going to be alright now, Gary," Ash said, smiling down at him.

Gary closed his eyes, sighing in relief. The leg was really hurting and the shirt Ash had tied around his wound was stained a deep red all over.

Professor Oak started the car and drove all the way back to Viridian City, not stopping until they were in front of the hospital. Gary was taken in and immediately rushed off to surgery.

"I'll wait ouside the surgery for him," Professor Oak said. "Ash, you seriously need to see someone about that nose. It might be broken."

"Pikachu needs to go to the Pokémon Center," Ash said, looking at Pikachu worriedly. He had taken a lot of damage from the explosion.

"I'll take him there." Delia took Pikachu from Ash's arms. "You go and get that nose looked at right away."

"Thanks, Mom," said Ash.

A while later, Gary was out of surgery. Fortunately, he hadn't lost too much blood from the wound. Professor Oak sat in the room with him. Ash soon came in to see him. His nose was taped over with a white bandage.

"Hey, Ash." Gary stared at him. "He really broke your nose, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he sure did," Ash said ruefully, sitting in a chair. "That bastard. How can a man like that possibly be my father?" He shook his head, biting his bottom lip. "I still can't really believe it. My own father... parents are supposed to love their children, not hurt them and even try to kill them!" His eyes prickled with tears.

Professor Oak rested a hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him. "It's just as much a shock to Delia and I. We never thought your father was that kind of person. It's true he did seem a bit reluctant about becoming a father and even said so, but we thought it would be different after you were born. Then he took off and we never saw him again."

"He said he came back to Pallet Town once... and he caught you and Mom." Ash paused, swallowing. He couldn't even imagine his mother kissing the professor and it was hard to spit it out. "You were kissing."

Professor Oak started, his mouth dropping open in shock. "He told you about that?"

"Yeah, you don't need to keep it a secret anymore," Gary said. There was a slight edge to his voice. "All that time you two were carrying on behind our backs and not letting on. Why did you keep it a secret from us? The whole town? I just don't understand why."

Professor Oak sighed heavily and rubbed a hand against his forehead. "I think we would wait until Ash's mother gets back before we actually discuss this."

"Yeah, sure." Gary looked away.

Ash stared at his feet, not sure what he wanted to say about the subject. It was rather uncomfortable to talk about especially since he had just learned of it a short while ago. How had he never been able to figure it out? Of course he wouldn't have thought there was anything strange about his mother being at Professor Oak's so often. She was usually just taking him things or visiting... at least that was what he had thought, but obviously they had been doing more than just that. It stung a little that they had never thought to tell him. How long had they been intending to keep it a secret from everybody? They had already been carrying on together for quite a while.

Delia soon came into the room with Pikachu. Pikachu leaped from her arms and scampered across the room to jump onto Ash's lap with a happy cry.

"Hey, Pikachu!" Ash hugged him. "Are you all right now?" Pikachu enthusiastically nodded. "Good."

Delia sat down in one of the chairs and exhaled heavily. "What a day it has been," she said dully. "I sure don't ever want to have one like this again."

"Delia," Professor Oak spoke. She looked at him curiously. "They know... about us."

"Oh my." Delia put a hand over her mouth, her gaze flitting between Ash and Gary. "He told you?"

Ash nodded. "Why didn't you ever tell us, Mom?"

Delia rested her hands in her laps and stared at them. "It's quite complicated, Ash. I used to be his student after all and, well, there is a bit of an age gap between us. The townspeople would surely think of it as scandalous. It probably isn't so bad now but... well, I don't know why we haven't let it out yet. We just weren't ready to, I suppose."

"I really had no idea. All this time..." Ash swallowed.

"Weren't you ever going to tell us?" Gary asked.

"Maybe we would have, when you were older. I know it must be such a shock to you both and I'm sorry you had to find out this way." Professor Oak shook his head.

"You don't have a problem with it, do you?" Delia looked at Ash concernedly.

Ash raised his head, meeting her gaze. "No," he answered honestly. "Professor Oak's a great guy and I know he treats you right. I just don't like the fact you kept it a secret."

Professor Oak glanced at Gary, who now had a somber expression on his face. "Gary? Is something the matter?"

"I was just thinking... I actually killed a man." Gary bit his lower lip. "Didn't really occur to me until just now. All I could think about at the time was saving Ash... I just snatched up the gun and shot him without a second thought."

"You did what you had to," Professor Oak said. "You saved Ash and that's all that matters."

Gary nodded mutely. He had done the right thing but it was still a shock to think that he had actually taken a life and he hoped he would never have to do it again.

"What a day this has been." Professor Oak exhaled heavily, massaging his forehead. He looked at Delia and Ash. "Well, would you two like to go back home now? I'll drive you there and then come back with some things for Gary, since he'll be staying here a short while."

"Yes, we should be getting back home now," Delia said. "You ready to go, Ash?"

"Sure," Ash said. "Hope you're out of here before long, Gary."

"Yeah, me too." Gary managed a rueful smile. "See you."

x-o-x-o-x

Ash looked at himself in the bathroom mirror with a critical gaze. "Geez, he really messed me up." Not only was there the bandage on his nose, but there were bruises on his face and neck. At least they would fade away soon and he wouldn't be reminded of the horrifying experience every time he looked in the mirror. Ash turned away from the mirror and sighed heavily.

"Pikapi..." Pikachu looked at him sadly.

"I never thought my father could be a bad person, even if he just left me and Mom. That man... I don't even want to think of him as my father." Ash clenched his fists. "I used to wonder what it would be like having both parents at home. I guess it wouldn't have been so good. He never even cared about me."

"Pika, pikachu."

Ash reached down and picked Pikachu up, burying his face in his fur. "I was lucky, wasn't I? If he'd stayed... well, who knows what might have happened?" He left the bathroom and walked through the house to the glass doors leading outside, seeing his mother standing in the garden before a small fire. He stepped outside and came closer, noticing that she held a box in her hands, and realised it was the one containing the pictures of his father.

Delia reached into the box and took out the photographs, tossing them onto the fire. Ash stared at the fire, watching the photos curl up and blacken.

"It's hard to believe I once loved this man. I stopped loving him once he left," Delia said. "I'm sorry you had to find out what kind of person he really was."

"Well, he did just leave us after I was born. I should have known he wasn't such a great guy, but I didn't think he would be that bad." Ash forced back the lump forming in his throat.

Delia put her arm around him, holding him close. "It's a terrible shock. We just have to try and put this behind us."

Ash continued to stare at the fire with a solemn expression, then looked up at her. "You and Professor Oak should stop keeping your relationship a secret now. Wouldn't it be better that way if you didn't have to worry about keeping it hidden?"

"I suppose you're right. We have kept it secret for such a long time."

"One day you might even want to get married, right?"

"Well..."

"Professor Oak wouldn't make such a bad stepdad either."

"Ash!"

"Hey, I'm just saying."

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Delia shook her head, amazed at his outspokenness.

Ash looked back at the flickering flames, smiling.


End file.
